growing up Christian Options

[eunie03]

I've lived a pretty dogmatic life. I haven't known much else. I started talking to a friend who's a philosophy major, and he up and tells me he thinks we just disappear after this. We have no soul, no spirit. We just live and die, and decompose. Like we never existed.

It's kind of pointless then. To live a Christian life.

I've been trying to get away from it since the end of high school. Christianity, I mean. But no matter how hard I try, it's so hard for me to believe that this is it. That there's no heaven or hell. Then I think about all the years I've wasted going to church and essentially just talking to the ceiling in my room.

It's just as easy for me to doubt it all.

Anyway, the point of my topic. If you've grown up in a church, you've probably noticed how much stronger the fire is in the newborn Christian. Growing up with it... it just makes everything mundane and routine. Have you ever denounced Christianity, just so you can have that newborn fire? Do you think it's a sin? To want to experience the world and gain some sort of insight before blindly following the faith?

[*disco infiltrator*]

^ Please don't spam.

Ok. People can be perfectly moral in their own right and live happy, fullfilling lives without trying to make God happy. I'm an atheist, and really, I'm more moral than any of the oh-so-wonderful Christians at my school. I would rather live to make myself happy than follow what someone else thinks I should do. Really, that would make me a lot happier. I wouldn't have to feel bad anytime I did something. I live by my own morals, and really, just because I'm atheist doesn't mean I'm horrible and sad and immoral. That's such a sad misconception and I really hate when people think that.

I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any drugs, I'm a virgin, I've never committed a crime...How immoral am I? Just because I don't believe means I don't have as good of morals as you? Just because I don't believe means my life has no point and it's less of a happy life than yours? No. My life is fine, and I'm no less happy than anyone else. My life has purpose. My purpose is not to spend my life trying to please God, but to please myself. My goal is not to get into Heaven, it is to spend my life making myself and others around me happy. I don't live to please someone who I can't even have proof of existing. I don't live to be rewarded. Personally, I would think that would be a pretty sad way to live. That's more immoral to me - that's like sucking up to someone to get a higher position in a job or something. I live for myself.

This post was directed at dahoonpride cause that's the vibe I'm getting.

[dahoonpride]

^ Please don't spam.

Ok. People can be perfectly moral in their own right and live happy, fullfilling lives without trying to make God happy. I'm an atheist, and really, I'm more moral than any of the oh-so-wonderful Christians at my school. I would rather live to make myself happy than follow what someone else thinks I should do. Really, that would make me a lot happier. I wouldn't have to feel bad anytime I did something. I live by my own morals, and really, just because I'm atheist doesn't mean I'm horrible and sad and immoral. That's such a sad misconception and I really hate when people think that.

I don't drink, I don't smoke, I don't do any drugs, I'm a virgin, I've never committed a crime...How immoral am I? Just because I don't believe means I don't have as good of morals as you? Just because I don't believe means my life has no point and it's less of a happy life than yours? No. My life is fine, and I'm no less happy than anyone else. My life has purpose. My purpose is not to spend my life trying to please God, but to please myself. My goal is not to get into Heaven, it is to spend my life making myself and others around me happy. I don't live to please someone who I can't even have proof of existing. I don't live to be rewarded. Personally, I would think that would be a pretty sad way to live. That's more immoral to me - that's like sucking up to someone to get a higher position in a job or something. I live for myself.

This post was directed at dahoonpride cause that's the vibe I'm getting.

well first of all, i never said atheists were all immoral and sad and horrible. and i never said all christians are perfectly moral and perfect. there are so many freaking ppl that call themselves chrstians though they're really not. just cuz they go to church don't mean they're christian. not all "christians" truly saved, not all muslims fast during the ramadan and pray five times a day, not all annihilists have killed themselves yet, not all buddhists worship buddha. all i said was to eunie is that with living with all these different types of ppl christians obviously stood out as more happy, moral, and bright for their future compared to the others. and like you..of course there are exceptions. i'm just saying the majority of the people.

lots of people think christians are selfish and only wanna become christians cuz they get to go to heaven. what kind of bullcrap is that? unless one doesn't become one himself they will NEVER understand the joy and fullness they get when worshipping God. Our first priority and desire is to worship God and glorify him. heaven's just the reward. true seekers of God are rewarded. true seekers of heaven don't get to know God. i have NEVER worshipped god so that i wanted to go heaven. worshipping god in itself was an incredibly happy moment for me which i enjoyed. if it was only to go to heaven...why choose christianity? there's thousands of other religions that offer the way to heaven. other religions with more freedom to do whatever i please.

true christians don't choose heaven first, cuz there's millions of other religions to do that in. true christians always puts God first, and heaven as a tremendously grateful gift.

you said your purpose in life was to be happy and live your life. well i never said anything against it and i won't. i'm just feel bad cuz ppl like you believe that there's nothing afterwards. when i was a non christian i occasionally thought of after death and i felt horrible. the fact that we vanquish into nothing....all the ppl we loved and cared for, everything we ever cared for....just completely useless. it'll be horrible to think of this in the deathbed...just waiting to die...and forever be gone.

and about what u said. we ain't sucking up to a person in a higher position. we're worshipping God who created us. when you're nice to your parents..does that mean you're sucking up to them? no..it's cuz they're your parents and they conceived you. you have to be grateful to them and show your respect.

[Spirited Away]

not all buddhists worship buddha. all i said was to eunie is that with living with all these different types of ppl christians obviously stood out as more happy, moral, and bright for their future compared to the others. and like you..of course there are exceptions. i'm just saying the majority of the people.

Not all Buddhists worship Buddha but can still be called Buddhists because Buddhism is NOT all about worshiping; it's also a way of life. A Buddhist acknowledges the way of life and trying to live it first, then worship. The former, more important and more necessary to the religion than the latter. So, this example doesn't fit with the rest of your analogies. I only wanted to point this out because I don't want you to misunderstand the religion.

Your comment about Christians are more happy, more moral with bright futures...etc, is truly biased, somewhat arrogant and cynical. I'd like to discuss with you how you came to such a conclusion. In that respect, I would like to share my opinion that Hindus, Jews, Muslims, Christians and all the rest have the equal opportunity to be happy and moral because it's more dependent on one's outlook on life rather than one's religion.

About morality, too many people think that religion and morality are one and the same, when in fact, morality existed long before the coming of religion. Religion now champions morality because people cannot understand that Right and wrong are human instinct, and that Good and evil, usually affiliated with religion, comes later. Our survival depends on right and wrong, and our living is beyond good and evil. To say that people of one religion is more moral than the rest is so very problematic that I don't even know where to begin debunking it. So, if you would indulge me, explain why you think Christians are more moral.

Now you said Heaven is a reward for glorifying God and believing that Jesus died for our sins, I'd like to question that, too. Christians say that their God is all loving and all forgiving, if He is all that then why does He only rewards those who glorify Him and the Son? Doesn't that means He only loves few and spites others? After all, if one was truly "forgiving" in all aspects, then one would be able to forgive all things in all ways, including disbelief.

you said your purpose in life was to be happy and live your life.  well i never said anything against it and i won't.  i'm just feel bad cuz ppl like you believe that there's nothing afterwards.  when i was a non christian i occasionally thought of after death and i felt horrible.  the fact that we vanquish into nothing....all the ppl we loved and cared for, everything we ever cared for....just completely useless.  it'll be horrible to think of this in the deathbed...just waiting to die...and forever be gone. 

I really, really get irritated when Christians say that they feel bad that I'll go to Hell. This annoyance is directed towards the pity that demeans all that I believe in. I would never say "Christians believe blindly" because that's unfair and shows intorlerance of others. Thus, I'd like the same respect and consideration in turn, but a lot of Christians just can't give it. This is the reason, I think, why so many people (in the free world) bash Christians. Tolerance works both ways.

I'm not Christian, but when I think about Death, I think about Life. I'll admit though, that I get sad when I think of the possibility that a person just dies with no afterlife to look forward to, but I also think life is so full of wonders of love and joy, even hate, that I believe that Death is a just end. Nothing "horrible" about it. (Off note, to those who know my views on capital punishment, this is why I feel what I feel about murderers.)

*shrug* He just doesn't need anyone who doesn't believe in him in his world. Who would?

One who is claimed to be all forgiving and loving, in all respect, should.

It seems logical to me that God created life. Science has done more to disprove itself than to disprove the Bible. I haven't been introduced facts that made the heterotroph hypothesis the definitive reason for life on this planet. But I do believe that God created life on this planet.

I will not contest that a Creator made life because I wouldn't know how, but I think science disproves the Bible as much as the Bible disproves science.

God doesn't make us suffer. Other people do. God gave us free will because he loves us. People that do evil are the ones that cause suffering. They are the ones who have no place in heaven.

Since this is a famous saying, explain to me exactly how giving us free will equates to loving us.

It's because people have free will that people make others suffer. It's because of free will that what is wrong persists to challenge what is right. Yes, I am saying that free will as much the cause of suffering as it is the cause of our happiness.